Vol 3. Chapter 15: What Kind of Contest Is This?

“I’ll learn from your head! Did you get my permission before barging into my dorm? Learn from you—what, you white-haired nutball, don’t push your luck, okay?” Vinny snapped.

Can you imagine it? You finally clock out, come home thinking you’re back in your private space where you can relax and rest—and then your face when you see a white-haired nutball making a racket in your place.

“Aw, Vinny, that’s really mean. Is that how you treat a good friend? And I don’t need your permission anyway, do I? You’re not the only one living here. Dale is very understanding and welcomed me~” Aesphyra, unfazed at being shooed, watched Vinny fly off the handle with smiling eyes, thoroughly enjoying the show.

[Virtue +20]

[Current Virtue: 10794]

Heh. This damned white-haired nutball really did come just to mess with him, huh??

“Oh—so Dale let you in?” Vinny looked toward the kitchen—just in time for an adorable white-haired elf to poke out a little head at the sound, glancing back and forth between Vinny and Aesphyra, not understanding what was going on.

“Dale, why did you let this white-haired nutball roll into the room?” Vinny asked.

“Eh?” Shicodale looked puzzled and said in a soft voice, “But... Vinny and Aesphyra get along well, don’t you?”

“Who gets along with her?” Vinny shot back.

“Dale, that apron looks very cute on you~” Ignoring Vinny’s squawking, Aesphyra propped her chin in her hand and beamed praise at Shicodale’s outfit.

“Th-thank you. Vinny bought it for me,” Shicodale said, head slightly lowered.

“My, then you were born gorgeous. You look good in anything~” Aesphyra’s alluring eyes fluttered as she kept turning on the charm.

White-haired nutball, you—!

Listening on the side, Vinny actually laughed in anger.

A second ago she said the outfit was cute; the moment she heard he bought it, she switched to “born gorgeous, looks good in anything”—a backhanded dunk on his taste.

And there she went again—incorrigible—flirting, right? He’d said a thousand times that Shicodale was a boy, and she still wouldn’t quit. What, she into adorable boys now?!

“You. You’re not welcome here. Out!” Vinny pointed at the door, face set. “Looking to freeload dinner, are you? You pay for that?”

“Aw, so Vinny really isn’t cute at all.”

“Cute my nutball! A man should be full of fire and blood! What good is ‘cute’? Is that even a man you’re talking about?” Vinny frowned. “Tch. Not appreciating this young master’s rugged masculinity is your loss.”

“Enough. I’m done wasting words. Out!”

“Okay—then carry me out, Vinny. Otherwise I can’t go~”

“Carry you—dream on. Why can’t you go out?” Vinny’s gaze dropped, and he understood what Aesphyra meant.

Her small feet, wrapped in black stockings, were flexed and braced lightly on the chair rung, not touching the floor—obviously unshod.

Right. Only he and Shicodale lived here; all the slippers had been worn by them. And Aesphyra had severe scruples—physical and mental. Putting on shoes worn by someone else was out of the question—never mind shoes worn by boys.

“Tch. No wonder I smelled something off the moment I came in. Turns out it was you,” Vinny teased.

That wasn’t true, of course. Once his daze cleared, the only thing extra in the air was a cool blend of rose and briar—a scent that conjured Aesphyra’s elegant silhouette.

“Sounds like Vinny is projecting. I’m not as unhygienic as you,” Aesphyra said. Her adaptability was extreme; once you used a jab on her, it rarely worked a second time—no more free Virtue from that line.

“Tch. So you’re taking over the host’s seat now? Do you know where you are? You’re in someone else’s home and you’re still this arrogant? You call yourself a guest—what kind of guest disrespects the host?” Vinny clicked his tongue.

“Aiya~ so Vinny insists on driving me out? Not even staying for dinner?”

“What would I keep you for? Sorry, no nuts on today’s menu, which means there’s no reason to keep you.” Vinny gave her a side-eye.

“Um—” Watching the two bicker on and on, Shicodale hesitated.

Weren’t they on good terms last time? Aesphyra had even used a pet name as a joke. Their relationship shouldn’t be bad, right??

But now it didn’t look so good?

Shicodale’s little head couldn’t wrap around it.

And if they weren’t on good terms, why did the air feel... odd? Like whenever they talked, he couldn’t get a word in edgewise?

“Is that so. What a pity. I came to express my gratitude to Vinny and to share some very advantageous information, and he doesn’t know what’s good for him—doing everything he can to throw me out, not even keeping me for dinner. Sigh~” Aesphyra tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed, performing like a seasoned actor.

“Advantageous information—for me? Tch. Since when are you so kind? If it’s that great, why don’t you take it yourself?” Vinny plainly didn’t buy it.

“Because I don’t need it,” Aesphyra said, voice cool and elegant.

“Don’t need it?”

“As for the prize—call it valuable or not and you’d be right both ways. Depends on the crowd,” Aesphyra said softly.

“? What are you talking about?” Vinny’s expression went odd.

“There’s no class tomorrow afternoon. Carillian Academy is holding a competition. The winner can get a very rare elemental elixir that can raise ice-element affinity for Magi whose affinity is at least ‘Good’ but below ‘Excellent.’”

“Elemental elixir?” Vinny had taken a semester of alchemy, so of course he knew what that was.

Simply put, it was a top-tier alchemical potion—extremely scarce, extremely difficult to refine, with rare materials. Drinking it permanently increased a Magus’s affinity with one element.

Getting even one bottle was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

“Ice-element—an elemental elixir?” Vinny was moved.

Elemental elixirs were indeed useless for those already at Excellent. Vinny knew that.

You could only say Aesphyra had been standing at an unreachable height since birth.

“Yes. And there’s more good news: this competition is a first-year benefit, only first-years can participate. Add to that the fact that high ice-affinity is rare to begin with—so, you get it?” Aesphyra coaxed with a smile.

“Something that good? How did I not know?” Vinny frowned.

“Because Vinny lives roughly and carelessly, sloppy about everything, never digging deep into his studies, and pays zero attention to the Academy’s many activities. Not knowing is normal~” Aesphyra arched a fine brow.

“This is a rare chance to permanently raise your ceiling. Whether you can seize it is up to you.”

“Where is it? If I go now, is it too late?” Vinny asked immediately.

“No rush, no rush. No class in the afternoon, right? After your morning classes tomorrow, you’ll have more than enough time to register~” Aesphyra watched him with a bright smile.

For some reason, watching that white-haired nutball smile made Vinny feel she had ulterior motives.

“Hey—you’re not setting me up, are you?” he asked, giving her a queer look.

“Vinny, it’s a campus competition. What could I possibly set you up for?” Aesphyra chuckled. “Do you perhaps suffer from persecution delusions? That’s troublesome. There’s no cure for diseases of the heart, you know?”

“Not persecution delusions—more like persecution by nuts. And strictly speaking, that doesn’t count as ‘delusions,’” Vinny muttered, lips pursed.

“So what’s the contest? Duels? No-holds-barred fighting?” he asked.

“No idea. From what I know, it might not be pure fighting,” Aesphyra said mysteriously.

“Then what is it?”

“That I can’t say for sure. Just go tomorrow and see for yourself~” Seeing he was truly tempted, Aesphyra smiled.

“But...”

“But what?” Vinny couldn’t help asking when the white-haired nutball started being coy.

“But—outcomes depend on people. I’ve told you about it, but given your qualifications, I’d say the odds are you won’t take the top prize,” Aesphyra said, crossing one black-stockinged leg and resting her gloved hand under her chin, amused.

“Oh? Don’t look down on me! Just wait—what if I win?” Vinny wasn’t about to back down.

Kidding. After a dig like that, how could he swallow it?

Since when had he ever shown weakness in front of Aesphyra??

“Then I’ll meow like a cat in front of you and admit defeat. How about that~?” Aesphyra said with a sunny smile.

“Hmph. You said it. Don’t go back on it!” Vinny snorted. “This young master can’t wait to see you admit defeat to my face!”

“Of course. But there’s no such thing as an unequal bet, you know that, right~?” Aesphyra’s tone shifted.

“Mm? What?”

“If Vinny loses, then what?” Aesphyra’s luscious eyes fixed on him.

“Tch! What do you take me for? How could this young master be a welcher? Fine. If you lose, you meow and admit defeat. If I lose, I’ll meow and admit defeat,” Vinny said, goaded into deciding on the spot.

“Good, good. Courageous—very admirable. I like that~” Aesphyra gently clapped, as if coaxing a child.

“With Dale here as witness, neither of us can back out~” She smiled like a sly fox.

“Who would back out? ... Wait—something’s off. This competition of yours doesn’t have restrictions, does it? Like conditions that would disqualify me?” Vinny remembered that among first-years there weren’t many with high ice affinity.

The only reason he had the guts to say all this was because those stronger than him probably wouldn’t enter. But thinking about it now—he didn’t even know the rules yet. What if this crafty little nut had set a trap for him??

You couldn’t not be cautious.

“Of course not. Tomorrow’s event—everyone can enter,” Aesphyra said with a radiant smile.

“Hmph. Good. Just you wait—don’t cry when I win!” Vinny huffed.

“Then it’s a deal.” Aesphyra smiled meaningfully.

“Of course—anyway, you—” Vinny started to go on, then realized that at some point Aesphyra was already standing at the door.

What the—when did she—?

“Well then, see you, Vinny. I’ll be waiting for your good news.” With that, Aesphyra gracefully lifted her black-stockinged toes, slipped them into her loafers at the entryway, tapped the floor, flipped her hair, shot Vinny a look over her shoulder, and turned to leave.

Tch. When it came to nut agility—

“Alright, Dale. Let’s eat. Ignore her,” Vinny said, sitting back down.

“Huh? Aesphyra isn’t staying for dinner?” Shicodale asked.

“Nope. Don’t worry—she’s not hungry. Nuts are very good at fasting,” Vinny said, unconcerned.

The next day, after morning classes—noon—Vinny arrived at the place Aesphyra had told him about.

Just as she’d said, there really was a competition here. A stage had been set up, and there were plenty of people.

Vinny went straight to registration and signed up.

“Hey, there’s an event starting soon here, right?” he said.

“Yes. Are you buying a ticket to enter?” the student at the personnel desk took a sip of tea and asked calmly.

“No. This young master is entering.”

“Pffft!” The student sprayed old tea all over his neighbor.

“Hey—what’s your problem? This young master is entering—what’s so funny about that?” Vinny bristled.

“No, no—you misunderstood. You’re... really entering?” The student asked again and again. “But you... seem to be a boy?”

“Is that a question? Are you making fun of this young master?” Vinny snorted. “What about being a boy? What competition can’t a boy enter? Or is your event barring men? Careful, I’ll report you.”

“No—nothing like that. Boys can enter, of course. This event doesn’t have a fixed gender. But I do need to say—this is a beauty pageant. Whether you fight well isn’t the main criterion; whether you look good fighting is. Dressed like that, you definitely can’t go on stage,” the student explained.

“??? What did you say?” Vinny’s brain hard-crashed.

“You—what kind of contest is this?”

“A beauty pageant, classmate.”